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A national partnership of government agencies, conservation organizations, academic institutions, educators, and policy makers has come together with a single vision: to restore and conserve shorebirds.
The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan is a product of this vision. At the core of the Plan are 11 shorebird planning regions, including the Southern Pacific Region. Each region reflects unique ecological characteristics and conservation issues.
The Eleven Shorebird Conservation Regions
PRBO staff were instrumental in the development of the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, and have taken the lead in developing the Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Plan (click here to download Version 1.0 December 2003).
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The Southern Pacific Region includes the Central
Valley and the California coastline.
In 1999/2000, PRBO staff developed the first draft of the Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Plan. The Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Coordinator, staffed here at PRBO, is working closely with other PRBO biologists as well as federal, state, and private partners in Central Valley and California Coast working groups to finalize the Southern Pacific Plan, and begin implementation of its priority goals.
This includes coordinating efforts with regional Joint Ventures (JV) of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. In the Southern Pacific Region, these include the Pacific Coast JV, the San Francisco Bay JV, the Central Valley JV, and now the Sonoran JV.
The mission of the Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Plan is to guide the provision of adequate, high quality shorebird habitat to restore and maintain California's shorebird populations.
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BROAD REGIONAL GOALS
~ Protect, enhance, and create high quality shorebird habitat
~ Monitor shorebird populations
~ Determine factors causing shorebird declines
~ Increase public awareness of wetlands and shorebirds
~ Integrate shorebird management with conservation efforts for other species
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In the development of the Plan, we used data from PRBO's Pacific Flyway Project
to identify areas of high shorebird concentration in the Southern Pacific Region. |
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Areas of High Shorebird Concentration in the Southern Pacific Conservation Region
500,000 + San Francisco Bay *
100,000 + Humboldt Bay * Sacramento Valley* San Joaquin Valley /Grasslands *
20,000 + Tomales Bay, Limantour Estero, & Drake's Bay, Bolinas Lagoon, Elkhorn Slough *, Sacramento /San Joaquin Delta, Morro Bay, Mugu Lagoon, Bolsa Chica, Upper Newport Bay, San Diego Bay *
5,000 + Lake Talawa, Bodega Harbor, Los Angeles River, Seal Beach, Mission Bay
* Designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site |
The Southern Pacific Region can be broken into four sub-regions,
each unique in its species complexes and conservation priorities.
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Surveying birds in agricultural fields in the Central Valley/ Chris Elphick |
CENTRAL VALLEY
The heart of California is the 400-mile long Central Valley. Intensively farmed and subject to increasing urban development, only 10% of the original wetlands remain. Nevertheless, the managed wetlands, agricultural fields, and evaporation ponds that replace the natural habitat support more shorebirds in winter and spring than any other inland site in western North America. In this sub-region there are especially promising opportunities to integrate shorebird and waterfowl conservation practices.
Conservation priorities in the Central Valley sub-region are to:
- identify and promote water and vegetation management practices beneficial to migrating and breeding shorebirds,
- enhance agricultural habitats, and
- reduce shorebird use of contaminated agricultural evaporation ponds while creating alternate habitat.
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Short-billed Dowitcher / Stuart Mackay |
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST
The rocky northern coast, interspersed with estuaries and sandy beaches, is a winter haven for Black-bellied Plovers, Willets, Marbled Godwits, and dowitchers. Shorebirds in Humboldt Bay and other northern estuaries depend on a triad of habitats including extensive tidal flats, adjacent sandy beaches, and upland pastures. By moving among these habitats, shorebirds find available foraging areas throughout the tidal cycle, especially critical during the storm events common to north coast winters.
Conservation priorities for the Northern Coast sub-region are to:
- reduce disturbance by off-road vehicles and other recreational activities,
- control introductions of exotic species - especially tidal flat invertebrates and
cord grass, and
- address sediment accumulation in estuaries.
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South Bay Salt Ponds / Sarah Warnock
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SAN FRANCISCO BAY
Though highly urbanized, San Francisco Bay hosts the largest population of wintering shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway, and well over a million shorebirds during migration. An extensive network of commercial salt evaporation ponds, remnant marsh, and tidal flats currently provides a diverse selection of foraging, nesting, and roosting areas for dozens of shorebird species.
Conservation priorities in San Francisco Bay are to:
- protect and manage key salt pond habitat for shorebirds,
- ensure that shorebird habitat values are retained in proposed salt pond
conversions, and
- protect and restore tidal flats, while controlling invasions of exotic plant and animals.
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Male Snowy Plover and Chicks / Dave Dixon |
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST
The many small estuaries along the southern coast provide critical habitat for tens of thousands of migrating and wintering shorebirds. These increasingly degraded habitats are affected by urban encroachment, reduced tidal influence, and accumulation of agricultural chemicals. Nearly 70% of the federally listed Western Snowy Plover population breeds on the sandy beaches of southern California; restoration of their population is a key concern.
Other conservation priorities for the Southern California Coast are to:
- reduce human disturbance in estuarine and dune habitats,
- control invasive European beach grass, and
- address issues of expanding native and non-native predator populations.
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CURRENT PARTNERS OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION PLAN: |
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CA Dpt. of Fish & Game
CA Rice Commission
CA State Parks
CA State Water Resources Control Board
California Waterfowl Association
Central Valley Joint Venture
Center For Ecoliteracy
Ducks Unlimited
Environmental Education of Marin
Grasslands Water District
Hansen Biological Consulting
Humboldt State University
H.T. Harvey & Associates
National Audubon Society |
National Park Service
Pacific Coast Joint Venture
PRBO Conservation Science
San Diego Unified Port District
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
San Francisco Bay Joint Venture
Sequoia Riverlands Trust
The Bay Institute
The Nature Conservancy
University of California, Davis
US Bureau of Reclamation
USDA NRCS
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US Navy
US Geological Survey
Wetland Concepts |
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| Click here to download the Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Plan |
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Become a Partner. If you are interested in shorebird conservation and ecology, and wish to participate in the conservation of shorebirds in the Southern Pacific Region, please contact: |
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Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Coordinator
PRBO Conservation Science
4990 Shoreline Highway
Stinson Beach, CA 94970
(415) 868-0371 ext. 307
(415) 868-8962 (fax)
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